


Lady Who Lunches

by Nyyrikki



Series: Word of the day [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Academy Era, Alternate Universe, Happy Ending, Hurt Kirk, M/M, warnings in notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-07-29 07:08:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7674904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyyrikki/pseuds/Nyyrikki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Slightly AU. Jim's a bartender trying to clean up his act and save money for the academy, but his new job is boring and he keeps himself occupied by trying to figure out his customers. One of said customers is a classy lady who's son catches Jim's attention from day one.</p>
<p>Inspired by Wiktionary's word of the day (May 7th).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lady Who Lunches

**Author's Note:**

> This one sort of just bled out of my brain and wouldn't let me sleep, hence how it's written, but I kind of like it so I didn't go back and change it. Originally posted in K/S Archive.
> 
> Trigger warning - attempted rape.

**Lady who lunches**

_Noun_. A lady who is affluent and thus able to have lunch with other such ladies in relatively expensive restaurants.

 

He’s starting to think the good pay is not even worth it.

Sure, the job’s a lot more stable and respectable and _a lot_ less hazardous than working in those shady pubs he’d started in, but holy shit is it _boring_. Some of the customers are nice enough, and he’s always polite even if they’re not, but most of them look at him like he’s a large stain on the front of his uniform and not a person _wearing_ said uniform. He doesn’t really mind that much, they don’t know him and he doesn’t want them to, so they can think whatever they want of him. He’s just here making some money to pay for the academy, because he’s plenty smart enough to get in. So Jim stands and looks pleasant and makes their cappuccinos and mimosas and gets bored out of his fucking mind.

There’s not a lot he can do to keep himself from dying a torturous death caused by lack of mental stimulation while on the clock, because this is a proper place where proper people come to have business dinners and brunches and it looks bad if the guy behind the bar is reading a book about warp engineering instead of looking pleasant and paying attention. So he looks at the people and makes note of the little things and after a few shifts he’s pretty sure he knows more about his customers than their therapists do.

He’s just serving the guy who always smells like the Orion ambassador’s wife so he doesn’t immediately notice the new face when he walks in, but there’s no way he _doesn’t_ notice him when the guy comes up to the counter and orders spiced tea. Because _fuck_ if his brain doesn’t completely melt when that smooth velvet voice slithers in through his ears, and those dark chocolate eyes give him a look of complete indifference. So he makes the tea and the guy is polite and he watches when he goes over to the table where that classy lady who sometimes comes around with a friend or her Vulcan husband is sitting. He’s figured the older Vulcan is a diplomat, and this younger version looks a bit like him and definitely has the same eyes as the classy lady, so he must be their son. _Who would’ve thought that Vulcan plus human equals sex on feet._ He tries to figure the new guy out, but he’s harder to read than any of the others. He’s dressed in simple black clothes that don’t look like they cost his entire month’s pay but he still manages to look so fucking regal that he could own the place. He sits straight and a bit stiff, but he never looks at anyone condescendingly and he’s polite to the waiters, unlike most people who live the high life, but he definitely isn’t some maintenance guy or mechanic either because he looks sleek and polished and his hands are un-callused and beautiful and Jim wouldn’t mind making closer introductions with those hands. The classy lady looks happy and the hot Vulcan doesn’t look unhappy, and they have their lunch and talk quietly and then they leave, and the classy lady sometimes comes back but the hot Vulcan is never with her.

So Jim does his shifts and saves every penny he can, and sometimes he goes out with Bones who he met a few months ago when he still worked in that dirty bar near the academy. And sometimes he picks up a pretty girl or goes home with some guy who likes it rough, but he never brings them to his tiny hole of an apartment because he doesn’t like to stay, and he doesn’t want them to stay. And then he works more, and he thinks he’s saving enough to go to the next entrance exams, so he starts sleeping around less and reading more, and Bones isn’t happy that Jim doesn’t go out with him as much anymore but he’s also proud that he’s getting his shit together, so he doesn’t make much noise about it. And instead of looking at the customers on his shifts to keep himself from getting bored he thinks about the stuff he’s read and does math on napkins when it’s quiet and no one sees.

And one day it’s really quiet and there’s only a couple of regular customers around and hardly anyone at work because it’s some holiday, Jim doesn’t care which because he doesn’t do holidays and he always works because holidays mean extra pay, so he’s working again and doing his napkin maths when he needs to do a run to the backroom because they’re running low on cream. And when he comes back the hot Vulcan is there, sitting at the bar and looking at his napkins with a tiny frown. And Jim doesn’t know what to do so he reaches out to get his napkins but aborts when the Vulcan looks at him with those fucking _smoldering_ pits of eyes and he looks amused and Jim wonders if he’s about to be told to just keep making tea and Irish coffee. But the hot Vulcan looks at him in the eye and asks for a pen, and because his brain is short circuiting the second that voice hits his eardrums he doesn’t even think about it, he just gives Mr. Sex the pen and watches as he crosses over a _sin_ and makes it _cos_ and suddenly all of Jim’s napkins make perfect sense. And he looks at the Vulcan and smiles and he could swear there is a smile in those dark eyes as well, and the guy is about to say something when the classy lady appears at his side and apologises for being late. They order tea and Jim collects his napkins and makes the tea and they go to sit in a corner table and he wonders why the classy lady only comes around with one Vulcan at a time, but it’s none of his business and he doesn’t really know anything about relationships between parents and their kids so he just unfolds a napkin and starts drawing engineering schematics from memory. He tries not to think about the hot Vulcan, but his eyes wander over every once in a while, and he’s a bit disappointed when he doesn’t even glance at Jim when they leave a bit before the place closes. But when he goes to collect their cups there is a napkin on the table with numbers and a drawing on it, looks like physics, and a comm number neatly written at the bottom corner, and there are butterflies in his stomach and he feels stupid because shit like this doesn’t happen in the real world, but he still folds the napkin and tucks it in his pocket.

He has to do the closing because everyone else’s shifts already ended so he doesn’t get a chance to look at the napkin properly before he leaves work, but he takes a quick glance before he climbs on his bike, and as he drives he thinks about it and figures he knows what it’s about. So when he gets home he scribbles down the numbers and runs his theory and it works, but he goes through it again just to be sure, and then he digs out the napkin with the comm number and he sends Mr. Sex a text with the answer and nothing else. He knows it’s late and that respectable people who eat lunch and drink tea with their classy mothers at proper places probably don’t answer texts this late, but he still looks at the small screen and waits for an answer, because this is the first customer he wishes would see that he’s more than just the guy who makes the drinks, even if he’s pretty good at that too. So he nearly short circuits again when there is an almost immediate answer, and he can’t help but wonder if he’s only curious because Jim’s smart or if this guy actually sees something in him, but he agrees to meet the next morning because he’s free and doesn’t have work until later and because he’s not about to turn down coffee with the hot Vulcan.

So he meets Mr. Sex in a small and clean coffee shop and learns that his name is Spock. And Spock asks him if he’s a student, and he isn’t so he says as much, and Spock asks why he’s working as a bartender when he’s obviously pretty smart, and Jim tells him that he’s saving money for Starfleet academy’s fees. And it turns out that Mr. Sex is a fucking _commander_ , and he’s teaching at the academy before shipping out some day, and they spend hours talking about the fleet and the academy and space and all things Bones doesn’t have the patience to talk about. And they talk until he has to leave for work, and there’s a smile in Spock’s eyes and he says next time he’ll bring a data chip with stuff for Jim to read so he can prepare for the entrance exams. And he doesn’t know what to do with the fact that there’s going to be a _next time_ but he figures he’s more than ok with it.

So they go for coffee again, except Spock always drinks tea, and he gives Jim stuff to read and they talk a lot and he no longer short circuits every time Spock talks to him. And then they start doing lunches on weekends, and Jim texts Spock on his breaks because he doesn’t do holidays so he works through Christmas, and on New Year’s he gets a text from ‘Mr. Sex’ when he’s out with Bones and then he has to explain the name and when Bones realizes that Jim has one of his instructors labelled as ‘Mr. Sex’ in his comm he has to listen to Bones rant about how he was finally pulling his shit together and how flirting with the coldest fucking guy Bones has ever met is only going to leave him broken and then Bones has to pick up the pieces.

And he stops texting Spock, not because of Bones but because it’s almost his birthday and he feels like shit, and he takes a couple of days off from work, and no one questions it because he pulled doubles all the way through Christmas. He hates his birthday because his mother hates his birthday, and so he locks himself in his apartment and reads to drown the bad memories and doesn’t answer his comm, but it’s not enough and on the morning of his birthday he’s about to start drinking when there’s a knock on his door. He figures its Bones because no one else knows where he lives, and he decides to open up because he could use a drinking buddy. But it’s not Bones, it’s Spock, and he looks worried and Jim knows that he looks like crap, and then Spock is in his apartment and there are strong arms around him and he lets himself be held, even if it’s sort of embarrassing. And when he feels like he’s not going to fall to pieces anymore he looks at Spock in the eye and he can’t help himself so he kisses him, and Spock kisses him back and then they’re ripping their clothes off and falling on the bed and Spock is pressing him to the mattress, and it’s not the same kind of rough as with the other guys but it’s fucking _amazing_. And afterwards he’s curled up against Spock, and it doesn’t matter that the bed is narrow, and he wishes that Spock will stay but he’s not going to ask, because he’s never stayed himself, and then he sleeps for the first time in days.

When he wakes up Spock is still there, standing in the corner of the room that’s supposed to be his kitchen, making tea. And fuck if this is not just the perfect angle to check out that 10/10 body, and he can’t help but smile because he has absolutely no idea how he deserves Mr. Sex standing half-naked in his apartment on his birthday. And when Spock notices he’s awake his eyes smile, and Jim smiles back, and they drink tea and eat crackers together, because that’s all the food he has in his apartment. And they talk as they eat, and after they eat they talk more and he laughs, and Spock’s eyes are bright and he kisses Jim, and Jim kisses him back so fucking thoroughly, and Spock’s hands are everywhere and they’re soft and beautiful and everything he thought they would be. And this time it’s sweet and wonderful and not rough at all, because it doesn’t need to be, and whoever said that Vulcan’s don’t have emotions clearly never slept with one.

And he goes to work again, and the classy lady comes around with his Vulcan husband but they never pay attention to Jim, so he figures Spock doesn’t tell them, and that suits him just fine. He still texts to ‘Mr. Sex’ on his breaks, and they still eat lunch together on the weekends, but they also start sleeping in the same bed, some nights at first, and then on most nights, and even if he goes out with Bones or spends the whole day reading, at the end of the day he finds his way to Spock’s door and he always lets him in. And he soon discovers that his Vulcan is positively _insatiable_ , and he definitely does _not_ mind, and sometimes it’s rough and primal and fucking perfect, and sometimes it’s sweet and tender and if Jim knew what love was, he would call it loving.

He goes to the entrance exams, and he thinks it’s a done deal but doesn’t tell anyone in case he doesn’t make it. So he works and spends more time with Bones and plays house with Spock, who doesn’t seem to mind that his apartment is barely big enough to turn in, so they spend time at Jim’s place as well as Spock’s. And when the results come in he goes celebrating with Bones, and he doesn’t get home until sometime in the morning so it’s the first time in a while when he’s slept alone, but he’s too drunk to really notice. He sleeps through most of the following day and he doesn’t know if anyone’s tried to reach him, but his head hurts so he doesn’t even check. He kind of wishes Spock would come over, but he’s also embarrassed that he’s in such a lousy state so he doesn’t call him. The next morning Spock _does_ come over, and Jim smiles, but then everything’s wrong and he feels stupid and he feigns indifference, and then Spock leaves and Jim calls his work to get someone to cover his shift, and then he starts drinking again. Because _of course_ instructors dating cadets is against the regs, and he should’ve known it, and he should’ve known that Spock wouldn’t go against the regs. So he drinks and stares at the wall and he doesn’t stop until Bones comes over to pry the bottle from his hand and hypo him to sleep.

Bones doesn’t say ‘I told you so’, but it’s pretty fucking close. So Jim bottles it up and pulls together, and he goes to work and looks at the people without actually seeing, and he moves his few possessions to the dorms where he’s going to share with Bones, and the first chance he gets he goes and tests out of every single class Spock’s supposed to teach him. After he does he doesn’t call Spock, who’s technically not his instructor anymore. He tests out of a few other classes as well, and he figures he’s going to finish in three years instead of four. So when the classes start he studies hard and does evening and weekend shifts at work, and when Bones tells him after months of the same that he has to do something other than work and study every once in a while he goes out and starts picking up pretty girls again, and he starts once more going home with guys who like it rough, but it’s never that good and it’s always hollow and empty and does nothing for him, and he never stays afterwards and he never brings them to his room. And Bones tells him he’s getting a bit of a reputation, and he doesn’t really care but he stops doing it anyway because he doesn’t care enough to keep doing it either.

So he studies and works and he doesn’t see Spock, and his boss tells him he looks like shit and should do less shifts, that if he takes a break from work for the finals he’ll let Jim do as many shifts as he wants during the summer. Jim doesn’t really want to take a break from work, but Bones has been telling him to work less and he really does feel like death so he takes the deal. And when the summer comes he works almost every day, and when he doesn’t he goes out with Bones, and he pulls a double on midsummer because he still doesn’t do holidays. And he doesn’t really mind being bored anymore, and he doesn’t really look at the customers anymore, and he knows the classy lady still comes around but he never pays attention to her or the older Vulcan who looks a bit like Spock.

And on the last day before classes start again Jim is driving back to the dorms from work and he pulls up on the parking lot and parks his bike, and then he sits down on the curb and buries his face in his hands because he’s just so fucking tired. And he never knew he could feel this shitty for this long, but it just never seems to go away, and it’s like there’s a tiny spot in the back of his brain that’s still crying for Spock’s touch. He knows he needs to get up and go to bed, but he doesn’t want Bones to see him like this, and he’s too tired to fake it tonight. So he sits and presses his eyes with his palms and tries to breathe, but then he’s suddenly not alone anymore. There’s some guy calling him, so he takes a breath and braces himself and gets up, and the guy tells him that he’s heard the rumours that he’ll do anything for a few credits, and his mates nod and say they heard so too. Jim doesn’t give a fuck about the rumours, and he’s certainly not going to fuck any of them, and he tells them as much. They don’t like it, and then there’s a fist in his stomach and it hurts, and soon his own fists hurt when they’ve collided with enough faces, but there’s more of them and he’s on his knees on the sidewalk, and then his cheek is pressed against the cold pavement, and there are fists and kicks and everywhere hurts and they’re tearing at his clothes and he tries to fight it but it’s so dark and then he doesn’t know anything anymore.

When he wakes up the first time it’s bright, way too bright, and everything’s fuzzy and he feels heavy and there’s someone holding his hand and it’s warm and soft and strong, and then there’s another hand on his cheek and the fingers brush across his cheekbone and he feels safe so he sleeps again.

The second time he wakes the lights have been dimmed down and they don’t hurt his eyes, and things are not as fuzzy anymore but he’s aching all over and he feels stiff and shitty. The warm hand is still holding his, but the Vulcan it belongs to is asleep in a chair next to his bed. And despite the fact that said Vulcan made an entire year of his life so miserable, he’s now incredibly glad he’s there, and the crying spot in Jim’s brain seems to have stopped crying and even if his body feels like shit, he somehow feels better than in a long, _long_ time. He rubs his fingers against Spock’s, and he’s awake now, and then the strong arms are holding him and he’d be perfectly fine with being held this way for the rest of his life. But Bones interrupts them, and Jim can see that he’s both mad at Spock and glad that he’s there again. And the doctor tells him that Spock worked some Vulcan mind voodoo shit and knew he was in trouble, so he and the police and an ambulance were there in record time, and that he was beaten to a pulp but they fixed him both inside and out as best they could, and that the bastards were stopped before they could get into his pants. Jim shivers at the thought and it disgusts him, but then Spock is holding him again and Bones tells him to rest and then leaves them be, and he buries his face in Spock’s neck and thanks him for saving him. But Spock shakes his head and says he’s sorry a thousand times, sorry for not being there for him, and they talk a few words in whispers but mostly they just hold each other.

And he gets to leave hospital after another night but he doesn’t go home, he goes to Spock and they hold each other and talk and make food and don’t have sex. And when he goes home he talks with Bones and it’s awkward but good, and he goes to his classes and he studies hard and works some shifts but he doesn’t wear himself out anymore, and he talks to a therapist a few times to get through what happened but his psych evals are better than before and he doesn’t feel like shit, so they only do a couple of sessions. And they keep it quiet but he sees Spock almost every day, and he starts texting him on his breaks again, and they start sleeping in the same bed again, and then they start having sex again and it’s every bit as perfect as he remembered. And Jim starts thinking that maybe he now knows what love is, and he figures he never wants to sleep with anyone else again.

And one day Spock takes Jim out to that clean coffee shop where they first had coffee and the classy lady is there, and her name is Amanda and she’s the wife of the Vulcan ambassador who doesn’t talk to his son but can’t stop Amanda from doing so. And the three of them have lunch and talk and she’s smart and nice and Spock clearly loves her, and she smiles and tells Jim that she likes him because he clearly loves Spock, and because Spock clearly loves him, but most of all because he makes Spock happy. And he’s a bit embarrassed because he’s a bartender and she’s classy as fuck, but he swallows it up because he’s happy that she’s ok with them being the two of them.

And secretly he wonders how he went from being a repeat offender and working at ratty bars to being a command cadet, and from hooking up with random strangers and never staying the night to eating proper lunches with the classy mothers of hot Vulcans, but he figures he’s pretty fucking ok with it.


End file.
